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EXHIBIT 99.1
SuperGen adds three industry executives to clinical research team
Medical and pharmaceutical veterans have over 47 years combined experience
SAN RAMON, Calif., August 15, 2000 -- SuperGen Inc. (NASDAQ: SUPG & SUPGZ)
today added three veteran medical and pharmaceutical executives to the company's
clinical research team: Karl L. Mettinger as Senior Vice President, Clinical
Research and Medical Affairs; Lawrence A. Romel as Vice President, Clinical
Operations; and, Jorge F. DiMartino as Associate Director, Clinical Research.
"We are pleased to welcome Karl, Larry and Jorge, three highly experienced
professionals, to SuperGen," said Dr. Joseph Rubinfeld, chairman and chief
executive officer of SuperGen. "With combined experience of more than 47 years,
their arrival adds considerable depth to our corporate management team. Each
executive is a 'hands-on' specialist, who will have direct responsibility for
clinical operations involving SuperGen's deep pipeline of oncology drugs.
"Karl will report directly to me, while Larry and Jorge will report to
Karl," added Dr. Rubinfeld.
Karl Mettinger, M.D., Ph.D., joins SuperGen from IVAX Corporation/Baker
Norton Pharmaceuticals, where he served in a number of senior management
positions, including Executive Director, Clinical Research; Senior Director,
Clinical Research; and, Medical Director. While at IVAX, Dr. Mettinger
coordinated an international panel of oncologists for the clinical
development of oral paclitaxel. In addition, he was responsible for filings
and implementation of NDA-targeted clinical development programs, including
Paxene-Registered Trademark- (paclitaxel) in Kaposi's sarcoma, as well as
breast and ovarian cancer. He has coordinated and supervised clinical trials
involving more than 13,000 patients in several countries and participated in
the filing of several New Drug Applications (NDAs). Prior to IVAX, Dr.
Mettinger was Medical Director of Hematology Operations at KABI. He was also
associate professor at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. Dr. Mettinger
is a member of the American Academy of Pharmaceutical Physicians and American
Society of Clinical Oncology.
Lawrence Romel has nearly twenty years of experience in the clinical
operations aspect of pharmaceutical and other healthcare related industries.
Prior to joining SuperGen, he served as Vice President of Clinical Operations
and Regulatory Affairs at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, where he brought that
company's lead compound, ONYX-015, into Phase III clinical studies. Mr. Romel
also served as Senior Director of Clinical Operations and Clinical Project
Management at SEQUUS Pharmaceuticals, where he was responsible for the
management of clinical studies, directing two successful regulatory
submissions (DOXIL-Registered Trademark- and Amphotec-Registered Trademark-)
and leading a redesign effort of that company's clinical operations systems.
He is a member of the Association of Clinical Research Professionals, the
Drug Information Association and the Professional Project Institute.
Before joining SuperGen, Jorge DiMartino, M.D., Ph.D., was a Clinical
Instructor in Pediatrics, Division of Hematology-Oncology at the Lucile Salter
Packard Children's Hospital, part of
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the Stanford University Medical Center. He is a certified member of the American
Board of Pediatrics and the Board of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology. Dr.
DiMartino is an associate member of the American Academy of Pediatrics, an
associate member of the American Association for Cancer Research and a member of
the American Society of Hematology.
Based in San Ramon, California, SuperGen is a pharmaceutical company
dedicated to the development and commercialization of products intended to treat
life-threatening diseases, particularly cancer.
This press release contains `forward-looking' statements within the meaning
of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are subject to the safe harbors
created thereby. Such statements involve certain risks and uncertainties
associated with an emerging pharmaceutical company. Actual results could differ
materially from those projected in the `forward-looking' statements as a result
of failure to obtain the clinical data necessary to support marketing approval
for the company's compounds in the U.S., as well as other risk factors discussed
in SuperGen's reports on file with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
(including, but not limited to, the report on Form 10-K for the year ended
December 31, 1999, and the report on Form 10-Q/A for the quarter ended March 31,
2000).
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